


Watching My Back

by MisfitWriter



Series: BadThingsHappenBingo [3]
Category: Chicago PD (TV)
Genre: F/M, Jay whump, badthingshappenbingo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-05
Updated: 2018-10-05
Packaged: 2019-07-25 17:52:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16202606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MisfitWriter/pseuds/MisfitWriter
Summary: For both BadThingsHappenBingo and Whumptober prompts - stabbing.  Minor Upstead at the end.





	Watching My Back

Jay Halstead was no stranger to fighting for his life, nor for the lives of those closest to him.  Whether his best friend in the hell of war, or his partner on the streets of Chicago, it was always much easier for him to put himself between danger and another person than it was to let someone else do the same for him.

Which was why he was fighting so hard against the hands pressing him firmly against the cold concrete beneath him.  If Upton’s hands were busy applying pressure to his arm, she had no way of watching her own six, and the former Ranger’s protective instincts were screaming at him to do something about it as bullets ricocheted around them.

“So help me, if you don’t stop fighting, I will knock you out.  We’re covered, damnit, the rest of the team is handling Miles and his crew,” Hailey growled.  Jay felt his body relax marginally, and a grin tugged weakly at the corners of his mouth. Damn if she couldn’t read him like a book.

* * *

 

_ David Miles.  On Intelligence’s radar for the murder of two business partners, the man had proved difficult to track down at first.  He kept tight security, and was near impossible to track as he’d been growing a human trafficking ring. After learning about the homicides – apparently the above-board business partners did not react well to stumbling across his extracurricular activities – it had been a lucky break when Jay and Hailey happened to be questioning a person of interest at the same time that Miles showed up to collect the week’s deposit. _

_ Jay wasted no time in chasing after their suspect, knowing that Hailey would call it in and be right behind him.  Miles made it into an alley before the detective caught up, easily knocking the gun out of his hand. What Halstead didn’t expect, though, was for Miles to be skilled at hand-to-hand.  They grappled for a moment before Jay managed to land a solid punch to the man’s jaw, and Miles stumbled back two steps. Even as Jay was surging forward to maintain his upper hand, he noticed Miles reach into his pocket.  The flash of light against a switchblade registered too late for Jay to do anything more than throw his weight to the side, which resulted in the blade embedding in his left shoulder rather than his chest. Miles used Jay’s beat of shock and the momentum of his attack to slam the detective back against the wall, which jarred the blade.  Jay was relatively confident a bone had been nicked with the fresh shot of agony that it brought on, and he couldn’t help a strangled yelp. _

_ “Back the hell up or I will drop you, Miles!” _

_ Breath hissed through Jay’s clenched teeth when the knife was yanked free and the detective was dragged away from the wall.  He found himself face to face with his partner, eyes alight with righteous fury as they flickered down to the blood-coated switchblade now pressed against the vulnerable flesh of his throat.  “You people don’t know when to leave well enough alone, do you?” _

_ “Says the guy who got sloppy with his sex trafficking and got caught by  _ both _ of his business partners.  Put the knife down and I’ll think about letting you keep breathing.” Blood began to drip from the tips of his fingers, and the alley around them began to grow a bit fuzzy at the edges. _

_ “How about you put the gun down and I’ll call off my guys?”  Gunfire at the entrance of the alley had both Hailey and Jay flinching, the latter regretting it when the blade bit into his skin.  Miles used the distraction as an opportunity to shove his hostage towards the blond detective. Jay struggled to reach out for his partner, who barely turned back in time to catch him, and the pair stumbled to their knees.  _

_ Hailey caught sight of the blood on his neck and cursed.  Jay tried to brush her hands away and gestured after their perp. “It’s superficial, go get him.” _

_ “Ruzek and Atwater will meet him on the other side. Your neck might be superficial, but the blood leaking from that hole in your shoulder is not so much.  Lay back,” she ordered, shrugging out of her jacket and pressing it against his shoulder. Jay groaned, and her face seemed to soften. With her free hand his partner pulled out her phone and connected to dispatch, calling for an ambulance. _

* * *

 

“You’re beautiful when you’re protective, you know that?”

“Tell me that when your words aren’t slurring from blood loss and exhaustion and maybe I won’t be tempted to dig my thumb a little too deep into this lovely stab wound of yours,” Upton growled in response.  Jay finally allowed himself to smile. Hailey cursed under her breath, willing the rest of the team to get the situation under control so that they could get an ambo in for her quickly-paling partner. “Hey, Halstead, eyes open.  No sleeping on the job, it sounds like the fight is finally dying down and I heard the sirens come in a minute ago, so Gabby and Sylvie will be here any minute.”

Jay blinked sluggishly up at her, pain momentarily subdued beneath unabashed affection.  “I’m not going anywhere, don’t worry, Hails…thank you for always having my back.”

“Shut up,” she muttered, fighting a blush.  “It’s my job to watch your back, as damn near impossible as you make it most days.  With a sigh, Hailey allowed herself to be vulnerable. “Still…”

“You enjoy  _ watching my back _ , I know,” Jay teased.  Upton rolled her eyes, and lightly flicked his ear.  “ _ Ow _ , hey, wounded partner here.  Injuring me further is decidedly  _ not _ watching my back!” 

“Oh, poor baby, you want me to kiss it, make it better?” The second the words were out of her mouth, Hailey wished she could take them back, if only because the rescue squad chose that moment to reach them, and she couldn’t speak to the shocked and hopeful look in her partner’s eyes.  “Hey guys, he was stabbed in the left shoulder and, as you can see, is bleeding pretty good. He’s also giving me plenty of sass, so I’m sure he’ll be fine once you stitch him up.”

“Thanks, Detective.  Your Sergeant said to have you stay behind to help wrap up the scene,” Gabby explained before turning her attention to Jay.  “Here’s hoping that shoulder is as resilient as you are, Jay…you ready to move?” Hailey sent him a questioning look, and he smirked at her tiredly.

“I’ll explain when you come pick me up later.  Better get going, you know how Voight feels about slacking off on the job.”  Gabby glanced between the two with a raised brow, but Hailey only flipped Jay the bird with a wry grin.

“Take care of this idiot, call me if you need to get rid of him before I get there?” Both paramedics nodded.  “Thanks.”

* * *

 

“So what was the whole shoulder thing about?”

Jay looked up from where April was taping the bandage in place over his wound, also covering the scarred remnant of his bullet hole in the process.  Hailey was standing in the doorway of his little room, arms crossed over her chest and a feigned look of nonchalance on her face. He glanced at the nurse, who handed him a sling with an expectant look and a wink before slipping out of the room and tugging the curtain closed behind her.  Hailey kept her eyes trained on the fabric for a long moment, and for a moment Jay worried that he’d misread their interaction before being separated.

It wasn’t until she turned back to face him, eyes more open and expressive than he could ever remember seeing them.  Words escaped him for a moment. “Back when I worked in Gangs, I was undercover on a job that involved Molly’s. It was when they first opened, were having a hard time getting on their feet…the guy I was trying to take down went after Gabby.  I had what I needed, once I went after his lackey the asshole shot me in the shoulder.” He smiled at the memory. “It’s actually what got me into Intelligence.”

“Really?” Hailey asked, stepping further into the room.  “How did that work?”

“Well, Antonio being Gabby’s brother and all, he of course showed up to the scene ready to end someone, and was immensely grateful to yours truly for keeping his baby sister safe.”  His partner shook her head with a soft chuckle and sat down beside him, brushing against his right shoulder. “He pointed out that I’d get my pick of detail from there for taking a bullet, I told him I wanted in on his unit, and he pulled strings with Voight.”

“So, detective…will you live?”

“It’s going to take a little longer to heal than I am entirely content with – he nicked my clavicle – but I should be back for desk duty in a week, active a couple weeks after that.” 

“I could use the break from worrying about you for five minutes.”  Hailey watched him silently for a moment, and the haunted look in her eyes spurred him to reach out for her hand.  “You scared the hell out of me today, Jay.”

“I know, I’m sorry…” Jay’s eyes lingered on her face as their conversation in the alley came back to him. He blamed the pain meds for the sudden boldness in his next words. “But I am glad to know I’ve got a partner who’ll offer to kiss it and make it all better…”

Hailey’s shock staved off her response long enough for Jay to follow through with his proverbial momentum, and it only took her the span of a heartbeat to respond when he kissed her.


End file.
